Parents of Missing Teenager Nora Quoirin Offer Reward for Information, as Search Enters Its Second Week

Wire Service
By Wire Service
August 12, 2019World News
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Parents of Missing Teenager Nora Quoirin Offer Reward for Information, as Search Enters Its Second Week
A family photo of London teenager Nora Quoirin. (Family Handout/Lucie Blackman Trust/Facebook via CNN)

The parents of missing London teenager Nora Quoirin have offered a £10,000 ($12,000) reward for information leading to the return of their daughter, who vanished from a remote resort in Malaysia more than a week ago while on holiday with her family.

Search teams have been trawling the rainforest surrounding the Dusun resort since the 15-year-old, who has a learning disability, was found to be missing from her bedroom on Sunday, August 4.

Her parents said the reward money had been donated by an anonymous business in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The appeal comes as crowd-funded donations for Quoirin’s family exceeded £100,000 ($120,000).

A fundraising page set up by her aunt had raised £91,195 by Monday, while another page collecting money in euros has so far generated nearly 15,000 euros ($16,800).

“Nóra would not know how to get help and would never leave her family voluntarily,” her aunt wrote in the appeal. “Nóra is a child with special needs and has learning and developmental disabilities which make her especially vulnerable and we fear for her safety.”

“Her parents and our families in Ireland and France are distraught by her disappearance,” she added.

Quoirin’s parents noticed an open window in their accommodation on August 4 and believe she may have been abducted. Though Malaysian police have also been exploring the possibility that she went missing on her own, her parents have said they have “no reason” to believe she wandered off alone.

Sniffer dogs and helicopters have been deployed and local volunteers are helping with the search. Posters showing Quoirin’s face have also been distributed across the region.

The teenager was born with holoprosencephaly, a rare disorder affecting the brain’s development. Her communication abilities are limited and she cannot write more than a few words.

Her balance is also affected and she struggles with coordination.

“Nóra is a very special person. She is fun, funny, and extremely loving. With her family, she is very affectionate—family is her whole world and she loves to play games, like Cat Bingo, with us,” her parents said in a statement last week. “She likes to tell us silly jokes and wear clever, colourful t-shirts. She is not like other teenagers. She is not independent and does not go anywhere alone.”

“Nóra is very sensitive. Outside the family, Nóra is very shy and can be quite anxious. Every night, her special time is for cuddles and a night-time story with her Mum. And she was extremely excited about the family holiday in Malaysia.”

The Dusun resort, where the family were staying, is in a remote area 800 feet above sea level in the Titiwangsa mountain range. It contains six houses, each surrounded by rainforest, and has capacity for just 20 guests.

Quoirin, whose mother is from Belfast and whose father is French, was traveling on an Irish passport during the trip.

She is five feet one inch tall, has a slight build, wavy shoulder-length dark-blonde hair and blue eyes, according to the Lucie Blackman Trust (LBT), a charity that has been assisting the girl’s family.

The family have set up an email address for information—[email protected]—and the LBT has encouraged anyone with information about her disappearance to call +44 800 0988 485. For callers inside Malaysia, the police have set up a hotline for information on 01112285058.

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